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RGENTINA 

From a Grain Man's 
Point of View 



Compliments of 

NASH-WRIGHT CO. 

CHICAGO 




FOREWORD. 

The following is offered as a representation of the con- 
ditions in Argentina that are of particular interest to grain 
men: 

While the aim has been to make this report as concise 
and brief as possible, yet the many modifying conditions 
found in an agriculturally new country like Argentina make 
brief positive statements, to a certain extent, erroneous ; 
hence the necessity of mentioning many qualifying circum- 
stances. Exact figures on any subject or detailed statistics 
in any line are impossible to obtain in Argentina for any 
period of years, but within the last four years the Argentine 
Government has had a statistical department that is efficient. 
The previous lack of any organized statistical system is 
felt by this department as well as by the visiting investiga- 
tor. Even now the system of obtaining vital statistics is 
not accurate. For instance, the government estimates as 
to grain acreages are based on the reports of threshermen, 
not upon figures from the tax books, or from figures pre- 
sented by expert reporters. Such figures cannot be accurate, 
though they are the best obtainable and may be fairly correct. 

A knowledge of these peculiar conditions will therefore 
explain many statements made in this report. 

The visitor to Argentina will, however, be greatly pleased 
with the uniform and general courtesy shown him by govern- 
ment officials, and business men as well. Every possible facil- 
ity is given to the investigator and he finds that any assist- 
ance or information that he may need or request, is invariably 
given with a hearty good will. 

Frank J. Del any. 



LIBRARY of CONGRESS 
Two Copies Received 
MAY 28 1904 

Copyright Entry 

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CLASS A XXe. Na 

c6py b 



Copyright by 
Frank J Delamy 

1904 












ARGENTINA. 



LATITUDE AND TOPOGRAPHY. 

The Argentine Republic is situated between latitude 22° 
south and 55° south. Its northern boundary line is there- 
fore about 200 miles nearer to the equator than is the most 
southern point of Florida. Its southern limit is some 400 
miles nearer to the polar regions than is the northern 
boundary of the United States. 

The agricultural area is at present confined to the dis- 
trict between 31 ° and 41 ° south. There is little cultivation 
of cereals north of 31 or south of 41 . '. So far as latitude is 
concerned, the agricultural area of Argentina may be com- 
pared to that portion of the United States lying between 
the cities of Vicksburg, Miss., and Dubuque, Iowa. The 
best lands devoted to agriculture are in the vicinity of rivers, 
particularly the Parana and the River Plate. These dis- 
tricts were settled first, have been cultivated most, and here 
the highest prices for lands rule, on account of the more 
favorable conditions of climate, water and proximity to 
markets. 

The accompanying map shows the outlines of the wheat 
and corn belts of Argentina. Wheat and flax are pro- 
duced everywhere in Argentina that agriculture is carried 
on. Therefore the limits of the wheat belt as shown on the 
map may be considered as the limits of the present area in 
which agriculture is carried on. Corn, however, is at pres- 
ent grown only within the limits marked, and while the 
corn acreage will undoubtedly increase, it will not increase 
so much or so fast as will the wheat or flax bearing acreage. 

The topography of the country, particularly of the areas 
under cultivation, can best be described as a vast level plain 
gradually rising as it extends westward from the seacoast 
or Plate river districts, until the foothills of the Andes are 
reached. There is no broken country intervening between 
the Andes and the sea coast in the central one-third of Ar- 
gentina. The northern one-third is timbered and more or 
less uneven and irregular in surface, and to the south in 
the district west of Bahia Blanca small mountain ranges are 
found. The map showing the density of cultivation of Ar- 
gentina indicates that the great plain or basin east of the 
Andes north of Bahia Blanca and south of a line drawn 
through the center of Santa Fe province from east to west 
is the district that offers available agricultural areas for the 
future, the northern limits of the Republic being wooded, 
and largely unexplored. Climatic conditions also are un- 
favorable for the extension of the agricultural area in the 
north as well as in the extreme south. The River districts, 

3 



those lands bordering on the River Plate, Parana or Uruguay 
rivers are low; the soil is alluvial and very fertile. Near the 
delta of the River Plate particularly, these lands are subject 
to inundation during periods of heavy rain-fall. In general 
the district west of Buenos Aires and west of Rosario re- 
sembles very much the flat, level country of Northern Indiana 
and the prairies of Illinois, except that there is in Argentina 
no native timber in these districts. Even the banks of the 
interior rivers are bare of trees, and the rivers run in clay 
channels, gravel or stone being extremely rare. 

Salt Marshes are found scattered through the country, 
and while the aggregate area of these saline marshes is very 
large, the marshes are not extensive in the agricultural belt. 
Most of the marshes are situated in the west and southern 
part of Buenos Aires province, and close to the foothills of 
the mountains in Cordoba, although some are found in the 
district west and south of the province of Sante Fe. 

Over a considerable portion of Argentina there is un- 
certainty as to the character of the sub-surface water supply. 
Frequently it occurs that a vein of salt water will be tapped 
when boring a well near by one that is supplied by a vein of 
fresh water. Consequently the lands having an assured sup- 
ply of fresh water wells are most valuable for grazing pur- 
poses, although few salt-water wells are found in the culti- 
vated regions, as a- general rule 



AREAS COMPARED WITH THE UNITED STATES. 

The superficial area of Argentina is, roughly speaking, 
about 741 million acres. About 250 million acres are non- 
agricultural, that is, they are covered by mountains, rivers or 
saline marshes, or climatic or other conditions forbid agri- 
culture. About 247 million acres are pastoral lands suitable 
for pasture or grazing lands, but at present non-agricultural 
because of character of soil, distance from railways, etc; 
253 million acres are arable, that is, suited to agriculture, either 
because of soil and climate or transportation facilities, but 
of this vast area only about 20 million acres are at present 
under cultivation. Compared with the prominent agricultural 
states of America the Argentine Republic is in area equal to 
Kansas, Nebraska, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Indiana, Arkansas, 
Louisiana, Alabama, Texas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Wiscon- 
sin, Kentucky, Minnesota, Oklahoma, and Indian Territory, 
seventeen states. In area in acres Argentina is _about 38 per 
cent of the area of the United States. Of the agricultural 
provinces of Argentina, Buenos Aires, Santa Fe, Cordoba 
and Entre Rios are important in the order named. 

The relative sizes of the various areas under grain in 
Argentina may be arrived at as follows : 

The total acreage under wheat in Argentina last year 
was about 10,500,000 acres, slightly larger than the combined 
wheat acreage of Kansas, Nebraska and Missouri for 1902. 
The total flax acreage in Argentina was about 3,675,000 acres, 
almost as large as the total flax acreage in the United States in 
1902. The estimated corn acreage in Argentina last year was 
4,450,000 acres, equivalent in size to the corn acreage of the 
State of Indiana. In this connection it must be remembered 
that the proportion of the harvested crop that is exported is 
very much larger in Argentina than in the United States, as 
the local consumptive demand for corn and flax particularly 
is practically unimportant. Live stock in Argentina as a 
general rule receives no cereal feed, the grass of the prairie 
lands sufficing in most years to keep cattle fat. When the 
natural pasturage fails Alfalfa offers a ready substitute for 
stock feeding purposes. Following is a brief description of 
the most important agricultural provinces before mentioned : 

Buenos Aires province, situated at the mouth of the 
River Plate, has large areas of alluvial lands and ranks first 
in the production of wheat, corn and flax. Its area is some- 
thing over 75 million acres, and it is therefore in extent 
about equal to the States of Nebraska and Oklahoma. Ac- 
cording to the latest figures obtainable from the Department 
of Commerce and Statistics of Argentina the area under 
cultivation in the province is divided as follows : Wheat, 
4,063,150 acres; corn, 1,612,910 acres; flax, 968,240 acres. Its 
wheat acreage is therefore about the same as that of Kansas, 
corn acreage about equal to South Dakota, and the flax area 




MAP SHOWING AREA AND ACREAGES OF ARGENTINA 

as compared with the United States. 



Total area of seventeen States shown is 1,137,725 square miles. 
Total area of Argentina is 1,125,000 square miles. 

JCq. n Sets ^^cbrssks 
Wheat acreage of Argentina equal to M////AWM and Missouri. 
Corn " " " ^^^ Indiana. 



about equal to the combined flax acreage of Minnesota, Kansas, 
Iowa and Nebraska. 

Santa Fe province is very largely timber land in the 
northern one-half of the province. The southern one-half is, 
however, a vast plain and is to a great extent alluvial land. 
Some of the best land in Argentina is in this province, 
and the agricultural area is practically all of that province 
south of the city of Santa Fe, which is the capital of the 
province. A considerable portion of this province is devoted 
to Alfalfa, which crop is more remunerative than corn or 
wheat, because of the slight amount of labor which it requires. 
The acreage suitable to the production of corn is, in Santa 
Fe, very large because of the favorable soil and climate and 
the growth of the production of corn promises to increase 
greatly in this province. The wheat acreage of Santa Fe 
is 3,314,740, or about equal to the wheat acreage of Michigan 
and Indiana. The corn acreage is at present 135,850, or about 
one-fifteenth of the corn acreage of Indiana. The flax acre- 
age, 1,709,240 acres, is large, and is more than one-half of 
the total acreage under flax in the United States in 1902. 

Cordoba province, situated to the west of Santa Fe prov- 
ince, and north of Buenos Aires province, is level in its 
eastern and southern parts, has some scattered scantily tim- 
bered areas, and the northern and western part of the prov- 
ince is mountainous. Some years ago it was generally be- 
lieved that the province of Cordoba would never prove 
profitable for agriculture because of the frequency of droughts. 
However, in recent years the weather has been favorable to 
agriculture ; the cultivated area has increased very rapidly and 
during this year some of the finest wheat grown in Argentina 
came from this province. The wheat acreage of Cordoba, 
2,239,210 acres, is about the same as that of Indiana. The corn 
acreage is relatively small, less than that of New Jersey. 
Flax area, 511,290, is about one-seventh of the total flax area 
of the United States. 

Entre Rios province, situated between the River Uruguay 
and River Parana, (the name Entre Rios signifies "between 
the rivers"), is largely devoted to stock raising, as it has 
immense areas of grazing lands, and the climatic conditions 
there have not be§n very favorable to agriculture. However, 
its wheat acreage, 521,170 acres, is about equal to the wheat 
acreage of Wisconsin (1902). The corn acreage (289,000 
acres) is slightly greater than that of Cordoba, but the flax 
acreage is about 447,000 acres, is slightly larger than that 
of South Dakota. 

These four provinces are the most important cereal pro- 
ducing provinces of the Argentine, but agriculture is carried 
on to varying extents in other provinces. 

The modifying conditions and circumstances which gov- 
ern the increase in cultivated area and the varying rates of 
increase of each cereal will be considered under the heading, 
"Methods of Cultivation." 



CLIMATE. 

A country w'hich extends a distance of 2,000 miles from 
North to South offers a variety of climatic conditions, but as 
this report will deal only with the grain areas of Argentina, 
only the climate ruling in these districts will be considered. 
As a general rule the climate of Argentina is mild and health- 
ful. The seasons are exactly the reverse of ours, that is, our 
winter months constitute the summer months in Argentina. 
The spring season in Argentina includes the months of Sep- 
tember, October and November ; Summer, December, January 
and February ; Autumn, March, April and May, and Winter, 
June, July and August. Except in the southern portion of the 
country, snow is so rare as to be practically unknown, and 
while the agricultural regions of Argentina enjoy a climate 
that allows farm work, such as plowing, etc., to be carried 
on the year around, except when interrupted by rains, yet 
these districts are subjected to changes of temperature, sud- 
den and severe. During the summer of 1903 frosts occurred 
in the southeastern portion of Buenos Aires province during 
the height of the wheat harvest, in the first half of December. 
As a general rule a southerly v/ind during the harvest season 
is very alarming to the farmer. The theory of the Agricul- 
turist in regard to these sudden changes is as follows : "The 
Argentine Republic, occupying the major portion of the south- 
ern extremity of the South American continent, extends in 
a straight line almost to the Antarctic regions. The shape 
of the continent makes it subject to these severe changes of 
temperature. Long and relatively narrow, running into a point 
at its southern extremity, and with no important or extensive 
mountain ranges or forest areas intervening to break the 
force of the Antarctic winds, these winds sweep unobstructed 
over the vast plains of Argentina, and bring with them as a 
rule low temperatures. The immense width from east to west 
of the North American continent and the intervening hills 
and forest area protect the agricultural sections of this coun- 
try from the Polar winds, and as a result the changes in 
temperature are not so sudden or so severe, and the tem- 
peratures of the United States, while they may be more 
extreme in their degrees of heat and cold, are more seasonable, 
and the changes are relatively more gradual. Then, too, the 
relatively small width of Argentina, and its level surface 
leaves it more easily and more positively affected by the winds 
from the South Atlantic ocean." According to this theory 
it will seem reasonable to assume that Argentina will be sub- 
jected to sudden changes of temperature always. 

The seasons in Argentina are classed either as rainy 
or dry. The rainy season may be said to include the months 
from October to March. The greatest rainfall occurs as a 
rule in October, November and December, continuing, but 
gradually decreasing, during January, February, and March. 
The rainy season is, therefore, the summer months, the win- 
ter months constituting the dry season. Sections of Argentina 
have in previous years been visited by long periods of 
droughts, but it is believed that the extension of cultivated 
area will do much to equalize both the temperatures and the 
rainfall. 

8 



METHODS OF CULTIVATION. 

The dates and duration of the various farm operations 
differ somewhat in different locations in Argentina, but in 
general the months of March and April are devoted to plow- 
ing and preparing the land for seed. Wheat planting com- 
mences about May and continues into June and July. The 
harvesting and threshing begins November 15th and lasts 
two months, until January 15th. Corn is as a rule planted in 
September and October, but in some sections is planted in 
August, and the writer has seen excellent corn that had been 
planted as late as January. As a general rule the corn crop 
is ready for harvest in March, but the crop is left standing in 
field much longer than is the general custom in the United 
States, and corn shipping is as a rule greatest in May, June 
and July. 

The methods of cultivation can hardly be described, be- 
cause, while there is cultivation, there is a marked absence 
of method. The prairie or "camp" land is frequently broken 
up, and a crop of wheat sown broad-cast on the plowed land 
without any attempt at rolling or harrowing, or otherwise 
breaking the clods. In the well-cultivated, older sections, the 
ground will receive two plowings and a harrowing or a roll- 
ing, but invariably the wheat is sown broadcast. The result is 
that the wheat, while as a rule of good quality, is rather low 
in the scale of yield per acre. The average yield of 
wheat in Argentina is calculated at 13 bu. by the 
Agricultural Department of that country, but this is 
an exceedingly liberal estimate. Private figures covering pro- 
ductions for a period of years, and excluding the bad crop 
years, make the average about 12 bu. It should be borne in 
mind, in this connection, that these figures are based in both 
cases, on the acreage tlircshed not the acreage sown, so that 
the true average production per acre is not nearly so high as 
these figures would indicate. The production of wheat per 
acre in the United States for a period of years, including bad 
crop years, is 13% bushels to the acre. Last year the average 
of wheat production to acre in the United States was 14% 
bushels. The explanation given here will show that the dif- 
ference in the yields per acre of the two countries is really 
greater than the figures quoted shows, but this difference in 
the rate of yield is due almost wholly to the difference in 
farming methods. Two or three times the amount of seed 
wheat per acre that the American farmer uses is necessary in 
Argentina, because of the method of planting, lack of selection 
of seed, and destruction by birds. 

Corn is all drilled in similar to "fodder" or ensilage corn 
in America. The rows are 20 or 30 inches apart, and as a gen- 
eral rule the planting is performed at the time the ground 
receives the second, or cross-plowing, by a machine attached 
to the plow. The result is that some of the corn is planted 
under clods six inches deep, and some remains on top of the 

9 



ground. An unreasonably large amount is thus consumed in 
seeding, and, like the wheat, the seed corn is not selected. 
There are, however, corn-planting machines now in use in 
Argentina which are modifications of the American corn- 
planter. These machines plant two or three or even four 
rows of corn at a time. There are very few "check-rower" 
planters in Argentina, and only in rare cases is the con* 
planted, as in America, in squares, or, as the Argentines call 
it, on the "checkerboard" plan. The growing crop receives 
very little cultivation. In fact, one cultivation is the general 
rule ; two if the farmer finds the time before the corn has 
grown too tall ; and of course all of the cultivation is one- 
way cultivation, because the corn is "drilled in." 




TROJA OR ARGENTINE CORN CRIB. 

This is much larger than the ordinary type. The ear corn is hauled 
from the field to the troja on the wooden platform shown in foreground. 



The farmer as a rule is willing to admit that he is not 
farming his land well, or right, but he is doing all that he can, 
because invariably the Argentine farmer attempts too much. 
The average rented farm in Argentina is rarely less than i'oo 
hektares, 247 acres, and is sometimes 400 to 500 acres. It 
can readily be seen that when one man attempts to farm 
240 to 400 acres, he cannot devote very much time to the 
cultivation of his crops. He sows the seed as best he can and 
trusts to Providence for the rest. The harvest, too, finds 
the farmer helpless, because of the general demand for farm 
labor at that time, making wages high, and labor scarce even 

10 



at high wages, so that not infrequently a large portion of a 
very promising corn or wheat crop is lost through sheer in- 
ability to harvest it. 

The wheat harvest is performed for the most part by 
American farm machinery, Binders or Headers, the "Header" 
being most used because of the greater amount which it can 
harvest in a day. A harvesting machine called a "stripper," 
which has been in use in Australia for some years, has been 
extensively introduced into Argentina this last year. This 
machine strips the wheat berries from the stalk, threshes the 
grain and delivers it into bags in one operation. The ma- 
chine is very wasteful and as it is not adapted to varying 
conditions of weather and soil, it is not likely to prove a 
solution of the Argentine harvest problem. 

The threshing is performed immediately after harvest, and 
the wheat is delivered to railway station as fast as threshed. 
Only in rare cases is any provision made for the storing of the 
grain upon the farmer's premises. Threshing costs are very 
high, about 10 cents gold per bushel for wheat, against about 
6 cents in the United States. Corn is husked by hand, either 
into a sack carried by the laborer slung over his shoulders or 
else thrown on the ground and afterward gathered up and 
hauled to the farmer's cabin, where it is stored in a "troja." 
The "troja" looks like an American Indian wigwam, and is 
of basket-like construction. It is made of saplings and corn 
stalks interlaced and held together by wires. The ear corn is 
piled up in this contrivance, and while the troja protects the 
grain in a measure from the rain, the corn is piled in a mass 
and the lack of ventilation injures its quality. The shelling is 
performed by American machinery as soon after harvest as 
possible. Neither corn nor wheat can be stored for long 
periods of time in Argentina, because of the ravages of 
weevil. The absence of frosts severe enough to kill the weevil 
subjects the stored grain to the danger of destruction by this 
insect after a certain length of time has elapsed. Of course 
bins and buildings can be constructed in such a manner as 
to render it possible to destroy weevil, by chemical means ; 
but there are no such facilities on Argentine farms, and it 
will be years before such economic measures are adopted. 

The whole scheme of grain raising in Argentina is waste- 
ful in the extreme, not because the farmer desires or is in- 
different to, the waste, but because the waste is an unavoid- 
able result of the system, or rather lack of system, in farm- 
ing operations, and it is beyond the power of the farmer to 
remedy conditions even if he knew how. It is a result of 
causes beyond the control of the colonist, who feels the loss 
most, and can be traced to the system of rents, the govern- 
mental conditions, the social conditions, and the attitude of 
the native toward agriculture, and toward immigration. Most 
of the farmers in Argentina are tenants, who hold leases of 
from three to five years, upon varying conditions, and varying 
terms of rental. 

Rents which are paid in shares of crops vary from 
10 per cent of the harvested crops to 50 per cent; and 
cash rents range from 37V2C gold to $4.00 per acre, gold, 
depending upon location of farm, quality of land, and the 
capital of the tenant. Land values cover a very wide range. 

11 

L.ofC. 



Unbroken wild "camp" or prairie land has been sold in large 
tracts as low as 20 cents gold per acre, and cultivated farms 
near cities are now held at $50 to $75 gold per acre in some 
instances. There has been a boom in Argentine real estate 
values in the past two years. Much land speculation has 
resulted, and conservative Argentine business men say that 
land values are now at a figure that is too high ; that while 
higher prices generally may be expected to rule later, yet 
the present values are the results of an advance that has 
been too rapid to, be healthy. 

The best corn lands in Argentina are also as a rule the 
best Alfalfa lands, and as Alfalfa has been a very remunera- 
tive crop, the tenure of tenancy on many large farms is only 
a preliminary to getting the land under Alfalfa. The large 
profits in raising live stock, and the natural liking of the 
native Argentine for this business (because he knows more 
about it than he does about agriculture) operate to the det- 
riment of agriculture, and makes the tenant colonist a semi- 
nomad. 

The peculiar situation in this respect that exists in Ar- 
gentina is aptly described by W. Singer Barclay in a recent 
number of McMillan's Magazine under the caption, The 
World's Future Meat Store. This writer says : 

"The wealth of Argentina consists of the deep alluvial 
mould of her pampas and the success with which the nitro- 
genous lucerne (alfalfa) is grown there. Strange to say, the 
ordinary progress of civilization is reversed. Pasturage in 
Argentina succeeds tillage. The great pampas are first of 
all broken up by the plow and made to grow cereals. Then, 
after three or four years of agriculture, the land is sown with 
lucerne (alfalfa), and becomes extremely profitable pasture. 
As the growing of wheat is undertaken principally as a means 
of preparing the land for the lucrative growth of alfalfa, 
'wheat can be grown at a profit under cost price.' As yet 
only one-seventh of the available farm area of the republic 
has felt the plow. Meanwhile, agriculture may be likened 
to a wave, which, sweeping inland from the coast, leaves 
green fields and grazing herds behind it. Argentina is 
supposed to contain eleven million sheep, more than there are 
in Australia and New Zealand combined — and twenty-five 
millions cattle, two-thirds of the number in the United 
States. The Argentine output seems within measurable dis- 
tance of controlling the world's meat markets. Butcher's 
meat is the main staple of Argentine prosperity, but the 
growth of wheat, as has been seen, and the export of butter, 
are important by-products." 



12 



IMMIGRATION^TYPE OF ARGENTINE FARMER. 

Inasmuch as the volume of the immigration to Argentine, 
and the quality of the immigration as well must to a large 
extent determine the rapidity of the growth and agricultural 
development of Argentina, a consideration of this subject 
is necessary in order to form an adequate idea of Argentina. 

The total net over- sea immigration to Argentina during 
1902 was about 58,000 persons. Of these, 30,500 came from 
Italy, 12,200 from Spain, 6,500 from France and 4,800 from 
Brazil. Germany, England, Belgium and Portugal contrib- 
uted 3,500, and the remainder, about 500, came from various 
other countries. As these figures show, the immigration to 
Argentina during 1902 was smaller than during any year 
since 1898, and was very disappointing to the Argentina 
Immigration Department. An official inquiry was started in 
order to discover, if possible, the reason or reasons why Ar- 
gentina failed to attract her share of the exodus from Europe. 
The report of this commission has not yet been made public. 
Figures gathered from various unofficial sources, however, 
indicate that the immigration to Argentina was more satisfac- 
tory in volume of late and would probably reach the figure of 
84,000 for the past year. 

Most of the farming in Argentina being carried on either 
by "peons" (native laborers), or tenant colonists, Argentina 
depends very largely upon immigration for its supply of 
farm laborers. The "Peon," while a master-hand at caring 
for herds of live stock, loses much of his efficiency when he 
is out of the saddle, and he does not take kindly to farming. 
Therefore, the immigrant finds a market for his labor, and 
a chance for a start by engaging in agriculture. The fact 
that most immigrants to Argentina come with no capital and 
are necessarily compelled to secure credit from their land- 
lord or from the owner of the little village store for their 
farming machinery, as well as food and wearing supplies for 
the first year, places them largely at the mercy of the store- 
keeper or of the landlord or both. 

The Italian immigrant comes to Argentina because of the 
similarity of languages and climate and cheap ocean fares. 
While he is excellent as a colonist, for the reason that he is 
a hard worker and requires little in the way of supplies, being 
content with living conditions that few other nationalities 
would endure, he is not a good farmer, for he knows nothing 
about agriculture. The average Italian colonist lives in a 
mud hut, of which illustrations are shown, and when his 
period of tenancy is over he is prepared to move to the fron- 
tier and begin all over. As a rule he starts out in debt to 
the "Almacenero" (country store-keeper), and he remains 
in debt, for he is charged very high prices for his supplies 
and his losses during a bad crop year more than equalize the 
profits accrued during years of good crops. 

13 



Argentine land laws are called by Argentines model laws, 
and despite the honest endeavors of the Argentine govern- 
ment to attract immigration the immigration is unsatis- 
factory in quality as well as in quantity. Argentina is par- 
ticularly anxious to attract American farmers there, but the 
effort has been so far unsuccessful. The reason for this con- 
dition of affairs involves a greater amount of analysis than 
the scope of this report allows. 

Within recent years it has become a practice for Italian 
laborers to take advantage of the cheap ocean fares and come 
to Argentina from Italy or from Brazil, for the wheat harvest, 
returning at the conclusion of the harvest. In general it may 
be stated that the practice in former years in Argentina of 
bestowing immense grants of land upon political or military 




THREE STAGES OF PROSPERITY. 

Typical mud huts occupied by average Italian colonist in Argentina. 
On the extreme right of the picture is shown a "corral" made of twisted 
limbs of trees, indicating the scarcity of lumber. Next comes the first hut 
built by the colonist — mud plastered over corn stalks, with thatched roof. 
A good crop the first year allowed the building of the hut in the center of 
picture, and another good crop allowed the construction of the largest hut. 



heroes, and the acquisition of immense areas by wealthy na- 
tives has placed Argentina very much in the position of Eu- 
ropean states, in that the best lands are held in large tracts 
by wealthy people. The profits in stock raising and the liking 
of the native for that business makes the intending colonist 
accept a grant of land on the frontier, far from transportation 

14 



facilities, or he must become a tenant, for he finds it prac- 
tically impossible to buy small parcels of land in the best dis- 
tricts. The Argentine law which compels the division of es- 
tates equally among the children upon the death of the head 
of the family will however, work to improve this condition 
of affairs, and will gradually divide up those immense estates 
into smaller parcels, and will, besides, place many of these 
smaller parcels on the market, for, like most Latin races, the 
tendency of the native Argentine is to live up to his income. 

Various colonies have been formed by foreign and native 
companies controlling vast areas of land in Argentina, and 
these colonies do their utmost to attract settlers, some of 
them selling the land upon favorable terms, but in general 
the idea of tenancy is the idea upon which the owner of the 
land of Argentina works. 



15 



TRANSPORTATION. 

The total railway mileage of Argentina is 11,340. Of 
these railways 1,245 miles are owned by the Argentine Gov- 
ernment. The rest, 10,095 miles, are owned by various for- 
eign capitalists. The English group of capitalists is the most 
prominent in Argentine Railway ownerships, owning most of 
the railway mileage, but the French capitalists have imp.ortant 
railway interests. About 7,800 miles of railway are wide 
gauge, sy 2 feet; 1,200 miles are standard American gauge, 
4 ft. S l / 2 in., and about 2,500 miles are narrow gauge, 1 metre, 
or 3 feet, 3 1-3 inches. Passenger coaches are for the most 
part of American design and construction. 

The motive power is for the most part of European type 
and construction, although there is a growing tendency to 
adopt the American types of locomotives and cars. The 
transportation problem in Argentina is the same as in Amer- 
ica, viz. : the handling of great tonnages, long distances, and 
the effort to solve this problem by using facilities adapted 
to the European or English traffic problem (the transporta- 
tion of package freights short distances), has proven costly 
and unsatisfactory to the railway companies. The capaci- 
ties of the various freight cars differ greatly, varying from 
11,000 lbs. to 80,000 lbs. The large cars are, however, new 
and are few in number, so that the average capacity of an 
Argentina flat car is probably in the neighborhood of 24,000 
to 25,000 lbs., and of the box cars about 21,000, slightly less 
than half the relative average car capacities in the United 
States. 

COMPARISON OF FREIGHT CHARGES ON WHEAT. 

ARGENTINA. UNITED STATES. 

DISTANCES AND BATES AS DISTANCES FROM AND BATES 

INDICATED. TO CHICAGO. 

Distance Distance Local Thro. 

Towns Miles Rates Towns Miles Rate Rate 

Baradero to Buenos Aires.. 92 .084 Pontiac, 111. . . 92 .06 .015 

Baradero to Rosario 96 .09? Ocoya, 111 97 .06 .045 

Rafaela to Rosario 114 .092 Towanda, 111.. 118 .06 .045 

Junin to Buenos Aires 155 .10 Lincoln, 111. . . 156 .07 .045 

Villa Maria to Rosario 157 .16 Broadwell, 111 163 .07 .045 

Azul to Buenos Aires 179 .105 Sherman, 111.. 178 .08 .06 

Rufino to Rosario 185 .127 Spr'gfield, 111. 185 .08 .06 

Pehuago to Buenos Aires . 225 .133 Carlinville, 111 g24 .08 .06 

M. La Plata to Buenos Aires 248 .14 Brighton, 111.. 216 .08 .06 

Rufino to Buenos Aires ... . 259 .18 Alton, 111. ... 257 .06 .03 

Drysdale to Buenos Aires. . 306 .15 Vandalia, Mo. 302 .14 .12 

Necochea to Buenos Aires.. 327 .156 Mexico, Mo... 326 .14 .12 

In this table the freight ra.tes are quoted in United States gold cents 
and decimals of a cent per 100 pounds. The Argentine standards, kilo- 
meters, metrical tons, and national currency, have been converted into 
United States standards for ready comparison. The United States towns 
tabulated are situated on Chicago and Alton Railway, and have been 
selected in order to make distance comparisons correct as nearly as 

possible. 

16 



Although grades are as a general rule light, yet trains 
are small because of small engines. Railway freight charges 
on grain, as shown by accompanying table, are relatively much 
higher than in the United States, but traffic conditions are 
in a measure different. In the United States the traffic flows 
in both directions, and the tonnage traveling from East to 
West is probably as great in volume as that flowing from 
West to East. In Argentina the tonnage flows from, the 
interior to the seaboard. The tonnage from seaboard to the 
interior is relatively very small because of the extremely lim- 
ited consuming power of the interior population. Propor- 
tionately the greatest consuming classes live in Buenos Aires 
on the seaboard. Naturally a large proportion of the service 
performed by railways in Argentina is unremunerative and 
the rates are necessarily higher. 

Argentine railway development and operation has been 
hampered both by local conditions and by unwise policies of 
the owners, who are, for the most part, English capitalists. 
The men in Argentina managing railways are bright and 
well informed and thoroughly up to date in their ideas, but 
the fact that the directories of most of the railways are 
located in London and the disposition of these directories 
to manage railways in Argentina, by cablegrams from London, 
has hampered active management in Argentina very much. 

The methods of transporting grain are primitive. The 
wheat being threshed immediately after harvest, is hauled 
to the railway stations in bags, and there the bags are piled 
upon flat cars. When the car is loaded the sacked wheat is 
sheltered from the weather only by a large canvas covering 
the entire carload. Generally the crop movement is very 
heavy immediately after harvest, cars are scarce and in the 
absence of cars the sacked wheat is piled up in immense piles 
on the ground, large canvas covers being the only protection 
from the elements. Naturally the item of waste from dam- 
age is very large. 



17 



GOVERNMENT SUPERVISION OF RAILWAYS. 

The Argentine government supervises the tariffs and all 
other important details of railway management, and some 
government regulations are in force which at first glance 
appear ideal, but which are as a rule evaded or ignored in a 
way, by the railways, so that the laws are not as effective in 
practice as they are in theory. The Argentine Railway law 
provides that a fine shall be assessed against the railway if a 
train is late. The result is that time-table schedules are so 
low that it is next to an impossibility for a train to be late. 
Argentine law also restricts the speed of trains within certain 
limits upon certain conditions. 

The railways in Argentina use a uniform bill of lading 
approved by the government. This bill of lading is a com- 
bination bill-of-lading and expense-bill, and on the back 
of each bill of lading is a table showing the time allowed 
for the transportation of the goods. A certain period of 
time is allowed for the transportation of the goods to destina- 
tion and goods must be delivered by railways within the 
time specified or forfeit their freight charges in exact pro- 
portion to the delay. In other words, if time consumed in tran- 
sit is 10 per cent more than that allowed by the table, 10 per 
cent must be deducted from the freight charges. This 10 per 
cent of course goes to repay the consignor or consignee for the 
loss occasioned by delay. If the time consumed in trans- 
portation is double or more than double the time allotted, the 
entire freight charge is refunded and the shipper has in ad- 
dition a right to sue for additional damages if any have re- 
sulted. 

The effect of this law is in the main good, but railways 
as a rule try to avoid any delays by refusing to furnish 
cars until they are reasonably certain that the cars will not 
be delayed in terminals or en route to destination. There 
has been a law recently promulgated in Argentina compelling 
railway companies to build (galpons) or warehouses at 
the country stations for the storage of grain. While the rail- 
ways are thus compelled to furnish storage facilities for 
grain, they are, by the same law, empowered to charge the 
owner of the grain storage at the rate of 30c per month per 
cubic metre of space occupied in warehouse. This is a rate 
of a fraction over y 2 -cent gold a bushel per month. It is 
believed that this law will have the effect either of lowering 
the elevator charges at railway terminals or of causing the 
construction of new storage capacity at terminals rather 
than at country points ; in the endeavor to avoid the building 
of country point storage capacity. . 

Argentine railways have a number of excellent rules that 
are of interest to grain men in the United States, the follow- 
ings being a summary of the most important : 

"Cars are furnished to shippers in the order of requests. 
One shipper may not ask for more than 12 large or 20 

18 



small cars in one day, but he may ask for this maximum each 
day. Cars set in on side track at shipper's request, if not 
loaded immediately, are subject to demurrage charge from 
date of delivery at station until they are finally loaded. All 
cars must be billed the day they are loaded, otherwise de- 
murrage ensues. Demurrage is charged according to size 
of the cars, being as a rule about 50 cents gold per axle per 
day. (A small car has but two axles, a large one four.)" 

When cars are overloaded, the excess weight must be 
paid for at double the ordinary freight rate. 

The railway rates for grain are based on distance, and 
are assessed on the weight in tons, averaging much higher than 
charged in the United States for similar service. Live-stock 
charges are not based on weights, but are an arbitrary charge 
per car according to distance. Live-stpck rates average lower 
than grain rates. 

The policy of the railways has been to gradually extend 
their lines, and that policy has been the most potent factor 
in the development of Argentina. The following quotation 
from a report made to the English Directory by one of the 
prominent Argentine railway managers is interesting: 

"There were some 12,000,000 acres in wheat and linseed 
last year in the whole Republic, and a large new area of land 
will go into cultivation this season. The virgin area still 
available for agriculture is vast, though it is doubtful if in 
the far west and south, where the water lies at a greater 
depth and is frequently brackish, and the rainfall is scant, the 
cultivation of cereals would be successful without irrigation. 
But it would be hazardous at the present time to draw the 
limits of the wheat-growing area, and while so much good, 
useful soil still remains untouched, the spread of agriculture 
depends, not upon the natural resources of the country, but 
upon the arrival of labor to turn them to account. * * * 
Throughout the agricultural zone new branches are being 
made, carrying the colonist and the tools of his craft to 
virgin lands, and putting him in touch with his buying mar- 
ket. Every lineal mile of new railway calls 'fifteen thousand 
acres of land into cultivation.' No wonder, then, gentlemen, 
that we are hungry after extensions and are constantly ask- 
ing you for fresh capital to make them with, and our pro- 
gramme now is to go on quietly developing our zone." 



19 



H- 




ELEVATORS. 

There are no country elevators in Argentina and until 
the country is more developed, until there is adequate and 
cheap terminal storage capacity, until the peculiar commer 
cial conditions change, there is no possibility that country 
point elevators would be anything but a very unprofitable 
venture. 

There are three large terminal elevators at Buenos Aires. 
One, the immense new elevator owned by the Buenos Aires 
& Rosario Railway, has been completed only during the last 
few months. This building is constructed of steel and con- 
crete, is fireproof, has a capacity of over two million bushels 
of bulk grain and bagged grain. The working capacity 
of . this house is calculated at about 200,000 bushels per 
day, that is, it can unload from cars and discharge into vessels 
a total of 200,000 bushels per day. A large milling concern 
owns an elevator constructed after the American tank style, 
the tanks being made of Argentine brick. This house has a 
total storage capacity of about 1,000,000 bushels, but as it 
has never yet been loaded to its full capacity it has not yet 
been tested. A private grain firm operates the third elevator, 
a relatively small one of about 300,000 bushels capacity. 

At Rosario there are four elevators. 

The Colorado Elevator, owned by the Central Ar- 
gentine railway, is a wooden house built on American 
plans. It has a capacity of about 300,000 bushels, but is 
used very little on account of the high charges assessed 
against the grain going through it. The "Davis" Elevator, 
the "Allardyce" plant and the "Coffin" mill and elevator have 
limited storage capacities for bulk grain, and are not of mod- 
ern elevator type, although each plant has large storage capac- 
ity for the storage of bagged grain. At Rosario the general 
practice is to pile the bagged grain up in large warehouses, and 
when these are filled to pile the sacks in the open air, on 
large platforms, the completed piles being covered by large 
canvases. Each exporting firm rents the railway company's 
ground adjacent to the tracks fronting on the Parana river, 
and the grain is piled up in the open air to await steamer 
tonnage. The result is that at times the Rosario river-front 
is covered with immense piles of bagged grain awaiting steam- 
ers. Handling the grain in this way the items of waste are 
large. Most of the grain is shipped to Europe in bags, not 
more than 30 per cent of the total shipments from Argentina 
being bulk shipments, although the percentage of bulk ship- 
ments is gradually increasing. There are no car lot shipments 
of grain in bulk. The river bank at Rosario is 20 to 30 feet 
above the water, and as the channel is on the city side of the 
river deep draught ocean vessels tie up to the bank and re- 
ceive their loads direct from the piles, the sacked wheat being 
carried by "Peons" to long wooden chutes called "canalettas." 



The bags slide down these chutes to the hold of the vessel, 
and the bank is high enough in some places to allow of the 
loading at the same time of four ocean vessels lying abreast. 
The bags are of flimsy character, and in process of hand- 
ling and sliding down the chute many rip or burst and much 
grain is lost. A sample of each bag is taken by a man sta- 
tioned at the land end of the canaletta for that purpose. He 
pierces each bag with a steel trier and takes out a small quan- 
tity of grain which is thrown into a nearby .receptacle. The 
aggregate samplings thus secured represent an average sam- 
ple of the shipment. 

The elevators mentioned are used at Rosario only in 
times of great need, and while they are equipped with mod- 




LOADING OCEAN VESSEL WITH CORN AT ROSARIO. 

This method of loading is in general use. The man in shirt sleeves at 
extreme left of picture is a private grain inspector. 



ern machinery and are efficient, the grain trade there prefers 
to follow this crude system of handling grain in bags by hand 
labor, and the Davis Mill and Elevator is practically the only 
one that is in operation the year around. The Davis elevator, 
while not of modern style of construction, is equipped with 
some modern grain-handling machinery, and contains the 
only corn drier in Argentina. This machine is built on an 
English plan and is a very large affair, and closely resem- 
bles the Hess dier in principle, although its construction and 
operation are somewhat different. The drier has a capacity 
of about 30 tons per hour of corn and 40 to 50 tons per hour 

23 



of wheat. The capacity varies of course according to the 
condition of the grain. The heat for the drier is produced in 
an immense open fireplace or oven in which coke is burned, 
the heated air being drawn through the slowly moving mass 
of grain in the drier by immense suction fans. The operation 
of this drier is very costly and the general trade opinion 
seems to be that it has not been a success, for it does not 
insure the grain arriving at European markets in condition. 
The opinion of the writer, however, is to the contrary. While 
the drier is of a type that would not be tolerated by insur- 
ance companies in America, nevertheless most of its failures 
can probably be traced to it's high cost of operation, and the 
consequent effort to rush the grain through, thus drying it 
unevenly or improperly. But this brings us to the all im- 
portant question that confronts the grain trade in Argentina. 



24 



DAMAGE TO GRAIN IN TRANSIT. 

Why is it that such a large proportion of Argentine grain 
arrives at the foreign markets out of condition? The answers 
to this question are as numerous as they are unsatisfactory, 
and no one has as yet promulgated a theory or offered a 
remedy that seems to fit all conditions. Grain dealers are 
divided in opinions. Some claim that the practice of venti- 
lating grain cargoes while at sea helps the condition of the 
grain. Others claim the contrary and insist on their cargoes 
going to destination under closed hatches. Cleaning corn and 
wheat has proven beneficial in some cases, and of no benefit 
in others. The same may be said of drying. The plans that 
have been tried with a view to insuring quality at destination 
are as numerous and varied as can be imagined. The writer 
had an opportunity of witnessing a rather unusual experiment 
along this- line. According to the Pasteur theory that fermen- 
tation of grain was largely caused by the presence of living 
germs, a chemical treatment that would destroy germ life 
would prevent fermentation, and preserve the grain. The cargo 
steamer "Abergeldie" was equipped with the Clayton sys- 
tem of sulphur fumigation. 1 his consists of a sulphur 
burning oven, pumps and long pipes distributed through the 
hold of the vessel so that sulphur fumes could be pumped 
through, to penetrate every portion of the cargo. The sul- 
phur treatment was applied to several holds and others left 
untreated, with the idea of comparing results at destination. 
The result of this last experiment is as yet unknown, but 
previous experiments along the same lines proved nothing, for 
the reason that of the cargoes undergoing this partial treat- 
ment, the corn that received no treatment from the fumes ar- 
rived in good shape, in exactly the same condition as did 
the corn that had been fumigated. 

To one unfamiliar with the scientific side of this question 
it would appear that the reasons for the poor keeping quali- 
ties of Argentine grain lie in the methods of harvesting and 
securing the crop, as well as in careless handling after harvest. 
Improvement in farming methods would therefore tend to 
improve the shipping qualities of the grain. 

Grain Types and Yields. — Argentine corn particularly 
seems to be of a type that should stand long voyages, for the 
corn berry is a round, flinty variety, similar to what is known 
here as "Yankee" corn, and resembles the corn grown in our 
eastern states. Some corn of the "Dent" type is grown in 
Argentina, and is called there American "Horsetooth" corn. 
The yield has been satisfactory whenever, this variety has 
been tried, but the Argentines are pronounced in their pref- 
erence for the variety described herein as "Yankee" corn. 
The corn yields in Argentina are difficult to arrive at, but the 
average as nearly as could be learned from interviews with 
many grain men and agriculturists may be fairly stated at 

25 



25 to 30 bushels per acre. Seventy and eighty bushel yields 
have been reported, and there is no question but that the depth 
of the alluvial soil in some sections of Argentina and proper 
cultivation of the growing plant will combine to produce 
phenomenal yields permanently in some places, but as a 
general rule 25 to 30 bushels per acre is a very fair estimate 
of the average production per acre, in the corn belt in Ar- 
gentina at present. 

The quality of Argentine wheat is excellent. The wheat 
most generally grown is known as Barletta wheat. This 
wheat resembles a Kansas hard winter wheat in form and 
color of berry, but it is really different, being a soft strong 
winter wheat. The seed was probably originally a hard winter 
wheat, but it has adapted itself to a climate that has no winter 
and has retained its chemical strength. Some very fine wheats 
have been exhibited as samples of this last crop. The writer 
saw one sample that tested 68 pounds to bushel, and while 
this is extraordinary, tests of 62 pounds to 64 pounds are 
not at all exceptional. Though the wheat is of excellent qual- 
ity, the yield per acre is low because of the reasons mentioned 
previously. A peculiarly fortunate characteristic of this Bar- 
letta wheat is that the berries do not fall from the head 
when ripe. They remain in the husk and dry into the stalk 
after maturity, consequently the wheat can be harvested 
after it is completely ripened. 

Other varieties of wheats, Hungarian, French and Russo, 
are raised, but in general the Barletta is fast superseding all 
others. Some "Candeal" or JVJJacaroni wheat is grown there. 
Local macaroni mills consume most of the supply of this 
wheat, and the rest is exported to Italy. Some millers have 
succeeded in grinding a 10 per cent mixture of macaroni 
wheat with other types of wheat without impairing the flour 
product, but as a general rule the milling machinery does 
not allow greater than a K> per cent mixture. The macaroni 
wheat sells at a discount under the other types, and for that 
reason its cultivation does not increase in as fast a ratio as 
does the cultivation of Barletta wheat. 



26 



COMMERCIAL EXCHANGES. 

In Buenos Aires there are two exchanges. The greater 
in point of general importance is the Bolsa de Commercio. 
This exchange is situated in the heart of the business district 
on the street called Bartolomae, Mitre, which is the Wall 
street of South America. On the floor of this exchange 
money, stocks, grain, wool and real estate transactions are 
carried on. The transactions in stocks and grain are the 
most important, but until the recent enactment of the Conver- 
sion law, which placed the money rates on a stable basis, 
there was an enormous volume of speculation in gold. Under 
this conversion law the Argentine paper dollar maintains 
a stable value of 44^ cents gold. The government of Ar- 
gentina under this law binds itself to redeem its paper cur- 
rency at the rate of 222.27, an d a gold reserve amounting to 
some 35 million dollars is constantly carried in the (Casa de 
Conversion), or Conversion Treasury, for this purpose. The 
stability of gold values thus created eliminated speculation in 
gold. The grain transactions and stock transactions are large 
in volume, though the exchanges in Argentina are not as 
stringent in their rules, nor do they control their members as 
completely as do similar exchanges in this country, for mem- 
bership in an exchange, so far as the grain business is con- 
cerned, is only an advantage in Argentina, not an absolute 
necessity. Consequently disciplinary measures are light,, and 
memberships in the exchanges are not so valuable or impor- 
tant an asset as they are here. 

The membership of this Bolsa De Commercio at Buenos 
Aires is large from the fact that it recognizes all classes and 
kinds of commercial activity. It has various subdivisions or 
Camaras (governing committees), such as the Camara Syndi- 
cal, or Real Estate Committee, the Camara, Oro or Gold Com- 
mittee, and the Camara of Stocks, as well as the Camara de 
Cereals, and various committees of arbitration attend to the 
settlement of commercial differences between members. Its 
rules are lengthy and detailed, and it punishes members for 
infractions of rules by fines, suspension or expulsion. How- 
ever, the influence of this body over the customs of the grain 
trade is not great, for the grain trade is not old enough in the 
Argentine to have acquired any well established customs that 
have become law through general observance. All contracts 
for purchase and sale are individual contracts, and the condi- 
tions of purchase and sale of any commodity are modified at 
will by the parties to the contract. All contracts are in 
writing, and although the Bolsa De Cereals has promulgated 
a general form of contract which has been modified some- 
what by the Camara de Cereals of the Bolsa De Commercio, 
yet the provisions of this general form are not clear or posi- 
tive, and as a general statement it may be said that no two 
grain contracts are the same. 

On this exchange, the sessions are from 1 p. m. to 2 and 
from 4 to 5 p. m. There is very little actual trading in grain, 
although grain men attend these sessions to meet each other 

27 



and verbal agreements as to purchase and sales are made, 
though samples of grain are rarely exhibited. With the 
transactions in the other departments of the Bolsa De Com- 
mercio, however, the case is different. In stocks and bonds 
and in gold the transactions are made on the floor of the 
exchange and are matters of record, although the stock trade 
is narrow and the gold speculation and consequent trade 
and exchange has practically become extinguished. Grain 
is all sold on the Metrical system, the unit being the ico 
kilos, equivalent to 220.25 pounds, although contracts for 
sale are invariably made in tons, the tons being the long ton, 
or 2,240 of our pounds. The market quotations are recorded 
in Argentine paper money values, and the conditions of sale 




BRICK TANK ELEVATOR AND FLOUR MILL ON DOCKS AT 
BUENOS AIRES. 

This house is constructed of Argentine brick and has a storage capacity 
of 1,000,000 bushels. 



depend on the color and quality of the grain, and the weight 
in kilos per hectolitre, the average weights of wheat running 
from 75 to 80 kilos per hectolitre. 

The Rosario Exchange, or Bolsa De Commercio, is in a 
similar condition to that of the Bolsa De Commercio at 
Buenos Aires. Like its namesake at Buenos Aires, it as- 
sumes control over grain, stocks, real estate and gold, 
and as a matter of fact there is very little trade of any kind 
carried on on its floor. Its session starts at 1 p. m. and 
continues for about an hour. The members use the exchange 
almost solely as a meeting place, all trades being made 

28 



in offices as the result of personal visits of buyers to brokers, 
or of brokers to buyers. 

The other Exchange of Buenos Aires, the Bolsa De 
Cereals, de Once de Septembiere is, in influence on the local 
market and the grain trade of the Argentina, by far the most 
important of the Argentine exchanges. It has a large mem- 
bership (1,200), consisting of local buyers for local mills as 
well as export buyers and brokers' clerks, and producers of 
grain. Memberships are cheap, worth about $50 gold. While 
this exchange deals with cereals exclusively and has made 
intelligent effort to systematize trade customs and rules, re- 
ducing them to written form, local conditions and the rivalry 
of the Camara De Cereals of the Bolsa de Commercio has 
hampered its growth. A grain merchant must practically be- 
long to both exchanges to do- business on either, and yet need 
not belong to any of the exchanges in order to carry on his 
business. On the Bolsa de Cereals samples of grain are ex- 
hibited during the exchange hours from 9 to 11 a. m., and 
buyers meet sellers there and the trades are made on the floor 
of the exchange, the written contracts being exchanged later in 
brokers' and buyers' offices 

This exchange is a practical working body, has a fine ex- 
change building and cereal museum in connection, an excel- 
lent and able corps of officials, and has codified the grain 
trade rules, in so far as custom has become a rule in Argen- 
tina. About thirty-five local mill buyers and fifteen or 
twenty buyers for export are on this market each day, and 
as most of the members of this exchange are also members 
of the Bolsa de Commercio or general exchange mentioned 
previously, many of the deals (particularly those in large 
lots of grain for export) are started on the Bolsa de Once 
de Septembiere in the morning and completed on the Bolsa 
de Commercio in the afternoon. The trade contracts of 
both exchanges are similar in form, and there is great rivalry 
between them. The location of the Bolsa de Sep- 
tembiere is against it, however, but it would seem to an out- 
side observer that Argentina's grain trade is important 
enough to justify the existence of a separate exchange. Con- 
sequently the removal of this exchange nearer to the Banking 
district would help it to secure complete control of grain 
transactions. As a general rule the grain broker in these 
exchanges occupies a position very different to what he does 
in the markets of other countries. The grain commission 
merchant in Argentina has no responsibility unless he is 
paid extra for assuming responsibility. The general practice 
in handling grain on the Buenos Aires Exchanges and the 
Rosario exchange may be described thus : 

The broker is advised by his client in the country, who 
may be a farmer or a country merchant, that he has a certain 
number of tons of wheat for sale, and upon receipt of a 
sample, he exhibits it upon the exchange. When an agree- 
ment as to price and terms of delivery is reached with some 
buyer, either the broker or the buyer fills out a contract of 
purchase and sale in duplicate. The buyer signs the one 
contract, and the other is sent to the owner of the grain for 
his signature. The buyer must, therefore, be familiar with 
the financial standing and commercial reputation of the man 

29 



who sells the grain, so that he can avoid the possibility of 
losses on defaulted contracts. For his services as agent the 
broker receives a commission of I per cent of the selling price 
of the grain. As a rule the owner of the grain pays one-half 
of the commission and the buyer the other half, but in cases 
where the buyer has fears that the seller will default on the 
contract the broker will generally accept the responsibility and 
guarantee delivery for an additional commission of i per 
cent to be paid by the buyer, and not infrequently he exacts 
from the seller an additional i per cent. Thus in many cases 
the whole commission charge amounts to 3 per cent. And 
in case of default by the seller of the grain, the buyer 
must exhaust all legal measures against the seller before he 
can institute legal proceedings against the broker on his 
guarantee. Grain is sold for various future deliveries, and in 
such cases is sold according to a type sample which is made 
up by the Exchange at the beginning of the movement of 
each new crop ; sales for future deliveries being based on 
type sample contain provisions for discounts for grain in- 
ferior to type sample, and for premiums for grain superior to 
type sample. There is no general speculative trade because 
of the narrowness of these markets, but a growing specula- 
tive tendency is noted in flax particularly. When ' grain is 
ready for shipment as the result 'of a previous sale made upon 
the terms outlined above, the buyer is notified, and he, accord- 
ing to provisions in the contract already made, either sends 
to the country point of shipment or to the point of destination 
a private inspector known as the "recibidore." This man 
samples each sack, and thus takes an average sample of the 
whole lot, and upon this sample final settlements are made. 
It will thus be seen that the seller wants the receiving in- 
spector (recibidore) to work under his supervision. Conse- 
quently this inspection, such as it is, is mostly done at country 
points, and it is a general custom to. do the weighing at the 
same time and place. Scales can be bought in the open 
market in Argentina, but the weights for the scales must be 
purchased from the government and must have the govern- 
ment stamp. 

An effort has been made within the last year to establish 
a separate grain exchange in Rosario, but jealousy among 
grain dealers made the new exchange a failure for the time 
being, at least. 

Practically all of the Rosario buyers are representing the 
same buyers in Buenos Aires, or rather the foreign grain 
firms who are the export buyers will have agents in both 
markets. As a matter of fact, there is very little of a local 
market in Argentina, the buyers for export receiving their 
cables each morning from 1 Europe, and while these buyers 
may compete with each other, all are out of the market when 
it is off on export basis. English or Continental markets 
therefore rule Argentina markets, for the local milling demand 
is only at rare times strong enough to cause an independent 
movement of Argentina grain values. The Chicago markets 
are cabled to Buenos Aires twice each day, but affect that 
market only as Chicago changes are reflected in foreign con- 
suming markets, although Chicago market movements largely 
influence the amount of offerings. 

30 



There is no hedging business from Argentina direct, 
transacted in Chicago, for the export grain business of Ar- 
gentina is controlled by English, German and French firms. 
Reports of daily purchases are cabled to the head offices of 
these firms and the hedges are placed from Europe. 

Finance. — The fact that the "Almacenero, or country 
merchant who buys the grain, is largely financed by his whole- 
sale house, who furnishes him supplies, and this wholesale 
house is largely dependent on foreign credit, makes the Ar- 
gentine grain trade largely a problem of finance, for the same 
groups of capitalists who are financing foreign banks in 
Argentina finance through these banks in Europe, the grain 
business of Argentina. An understanding of this condition 
will indicate that the American country and terminal ele- 
vator will one day be introduced into Argentina, but until 
the producer of grain is free to sell his grain to the highest 
bidder, regardless of other considerations, an American in- 
vestment in the Argentina country grain trade would not be 
profitable, because of the large capital necessary to insure 
success. Should Argentina be blessed with good crops for 
a period of five or more years it is likely that the outlook 
for the profitable application of American methods in Ar- 
gentina's grain trade will be brighter than it now is, for 
with an even competitive chance the savings of wastes that 
could be inaugurated by expert American grain men would 
alone pay handsome dividends on investments. All of the 
railways of Argentina are anxious for the development of 
the grain business on their lines ; all railway managers as- 
sured the writer that the transportation of grain in bulk was 
what they were aiming at, but since the rates on bulk grain 
are no lower than on sacked grain the development of this 
method of grain transportation is practically nil. 



INSPECTION OF GRAIN. 

There is no official inspection of grain in any exchange in 
Argentina. Type samples are made up at the beginning of 
each crop movement, and trades are based upon these type 
samples, with varying discounts and premiums according to 
quality, but as has been indicated by a glance at the methods 
of handling the grain, the inspection in vogue is really a 
private personal inspection. There is, therefore, no grading 
of grain, the market quotation posted being the value of the 
ruling standard sample. Mr. Russel Smith has inaugurated a 
private bureau of inspection, and he furnishes inspectors to 
buyers or sellers at any point of shipment, charging fees for 
the service rendered. His inspection, while excellent and 
reliable, is not final except by agreement between parties 
to a trade, and it corresponds to the private sampler's in- 
spection in our markets. Mr. Smith and a Mr. Goodwin 
who preceded him have made strenuous efforts to establish 
some official system of inspection, either "exchange" or gov- 
ernmental," but so far the effort has met with little encourage- 
ment. In the main it appears that the buyers of the grain 
do not care for any official inspection system, preferring the 
present method of private inspection for obvious reasons. 

31 



BANKING. 

Most of the banks in Argentina are foreign and all are 
prosperous. In addition to the banks owned by foreign cap- 
ital, there is the Argentine National Bank, and various banks 
owned by local capital, as well as a number of trust com- 
panies. In general the banking facilities of Argentina are 
excellent, and as a result of the good crops and the pros- 
perous condition of the country interest rates on gilt edged 
commercial paper have ruled as low as 4% P er cen t during 
the last six months against the previously normal rates of 
7 to 10 per cent. In the absence of definite figures the foreign 
banking investments are in their order of importance as 
follows : English, German, Italian, Spanish, French. There 
are no American banks, but the rapid increase of American 
trade with Argentina and the excellent market which Argen- 
tina offers for the manufacturers of the United States (as 
soon as these manufacturers follow the lead of European com- 
petitors and make and pack their goods to suit the Argentine 
customer) will necessitate American banks in the future. 

The banking business at present is not intimately con- 
nected with the grain business, in Argentina. Most of the 
large grain exporting firms have their head offices in European 
financial centers, and the credits are arranged there between 
the heads of the banks and the heads of the exporting firms. 
The use of warehouse certificates is rare in Argentina, for 
the reasons given above, as well as because of lack of ware- 
housing of grain, and absence of inspection. As a general 
rule it may be stated that warehouse warrants are in use 
only as evidence of good faith, that loans are made upon 
general credits, the warehouse warrants only appearing as 
•corrobative collateral, not as real collateral, nor are they 
negotiable in any sense. 

The fact that most bank managers in Argentina have 
their latitude of action very much restricted by the necessity 
of conferring with the home Directory by cablegram, over 
important loans, hampers these managers .very much, but the 
active competition, particularly between the Germans and 
the English, in Argentina's commercial life, is gradually tend- 
ing toward the point where the resident manager of these 
institutions will of necessity be given absolute freedom of 
action and final decision on all loans. 



32 



PRINCIPAL SHIPPING PORTS. 

The principal shipping port of Argentina is of course 
Buenos Aires, the capital, because of its location on the 
Plate River, practically on the seaboard ; its fine system of 
docks, and its prominence as a railway center. In the grain 
trade, however, Rosario follows it closely, but the presence 
of two or three mud or sand bars in the Parajpa River be- 
tween Buenos Aires and Rosario makes it difficult to load 
deep draught ocean vessels at Rosario to their full draught. 
Consequently it is the general practice, except during periods 
of high water, to load grain vessels to the draught allowed 
by the intervening bars, and then finish out the cargo at 
Buenos Aires. There are a number of other ports of minor 
importance. The following table giving the grain shipments 
from Argentina during 1903 will indicate the relative impor- 
tance of each port : 

TOTAL SHIPMENTS OF WHEAT, CORN AND FLAX FROM VARIOUS 
ARGENTINE PORTS IN I903. 

Buenos Aires 1,786,000 tons. 

Rosario 1,780,000 " 

San Nicholas 428,000 " 

Bahia Blanca 368,500 " 

Villa Constitution 313,000 " 

Sante Fe 123,000 " 

La Plata 88,500 " 

Bahia Blanca is a port that is confidentlv believed in 
Argentina will one day rival Buenos Aires. There is an ex- 
cellent harbor there. The government naval headquarters are 
located near Bahia Blanca and some very fine and extensive 
engineering works, such as docks and dry docks, are in 
process of construction. The Bahia Blanca and Northwest- 
ern Railway and the Southern Railway have spent large sums 
of money at Bahia Blanca constructing large port works, 
docks, piers, etc., and paying considerable attention to me- 
chanical systems for the rapid and economical handling of 
sacked grain. These systems may be described as an elab- 
orate system of conveyor belts. These belts run up an in- 
clined way. The bagged grain is thrown upon the belt, car- 
ried up and delivered to chutes and the bags slide down 
into the hold of the waiting vessels. Bahia Blanca is troubled 
much with winds. The wind blows almost incessantly 
and as it is laden with fine sandy dust its effect upon ma- 
chinery is very marked and very troublesome. 

Great sums of money have been wasted in the construc- 
tion of an elaborate system of docks at the port of La Plata in 
the effort to make a commercial center of that place, but these 
artificial efforts to create a commercial port have been a com- 
plete failure, for because of its proximity to Buenos Aires, it 
has suffered much from the commercial rivalry with the 

33 



\ 



metropolis, and the local business tributary to La Plata never 
was and possibly never will be great enough to justify even 
a portion of the great expenditures that have been made. 

At Rosario a very elaborate system of docks and port 
works is in process of construction. A French syndicate has 
secured a concession from the Argentine government which 
provides for the ultimate expenditure of some 12 or 15 mil- 
lions of dollars upon docks, etc., and the concessionaires are 
allowed a regulated tax upon all imports and exports through 
the port of Rosario. The concession not only covers the im- 
mediate port of Rosario, but no free shipping is allowed for a 
considerable distance from Rosario in either direction along 
the Parana River during the life of the concession, forty 
years. The Rosario port as an export port has natural ad- 
vantages that cannot be improved upon, as the method of 
grain shipping indicates. Consequently the immense scheme 
outlined above seems largely unnecessary. 

In the Province of Buenos Aires an immense plan of 
canalization has recently been adopted. The theory is that the 
construction of a large system of interior canals will not only 
reclaim large quantities of excellent land now subject to inun- 
dation, but will form an easy and economical means for the 
transportation of the products of these lands. 

There is some irrigation in Argentina, particularly in the 
northwestern part; also in the southern district west of Bahia 
Blanca near the Colorado River. There is a governmental 
School of Irrigation at the city of Bellville. 



34 



OCEAN FREIGHTS AND INSURANCE. 

The ordinary ocean freight charge from Argentine ports 
to Liverpool or to the principal European ports, is about 
14 shillings, about $3.35 a ton, or about 9 cents a bushel 
on wheat. Freights have been known to be as low as noth- 
ing, or less than nothing, and as high as 20 shillings. In one 
rare instance vessels paid grain shippers 2^2 shillings, or 
about 75 cents a ton for grain cargo as ballast. Ocean rates 
are of course governed by the movement of grain and the 
supply of ocean tonnage available. As a general rule the 
rate is in the neighborhood of 14 shillings for transportation 
to Europe, with stops at the island of St. Vincent for orders 
The grain may be sold after the ship leaves the Argentine 
port while it is enroute to St. Vincent, in which case the 
captain of the vessel will receive at St. Vincent orders by 
cable telling him what port he shall proceed to. As a gen- 
eral rule, on vessels routed to destination direct, avoiding 
the stop at St. Vincent, a reduction of ^4 shilling a ton is 
made in the freight charge. The voyage from Argentina 
to the European continent as a general rule consumes about 
thirty days in steamers and of course relatively longer in 
sailing vessels. 

Despatch Money. — A large item of profit in the Argen- 
tine grain business is Despatch money. All cargo vessels 
have an established rate of loading per day. That is, after 
the vessel gets to its berth ready for loading, a certain 
amount of cargo is supposed to be put on board each day by 
the party chartering the boat or engaging the freight room. 
This amount is generally about 200 tons per day, exclusive 
of Sundays and holidays ; so that a boat of 4,000-tons capacity, 
is allowed twenty days for loading. If the vessel is loaded 
in less time the owners pay to the shipper a bonus of 
$50 gold for each day, inclusive of Sundays and holidays, 
that is thus saved. Consequently rapid loading is very 
profitable to the grain shipper. In fact, dispatch money forms 
no inconsiderable item of the Argentine exporter's profits. 
Insurance rates on cargoes vary according to the steamer and 
destination, but in a general way may be safely figured at 
about y 2 to Y% of 1 per cent of cargo value. 

Specific insurance on grain alone in warehouse varies 
according to local conditions, but is about Y% per cent. 
General floating insurance covering elevator and galpon build- 
ings and contents, about 2.y 2 per cent, liability limited to 50 
per cent of values. 



WEATHER AND CROP REPORTS. 

The Argentine government has a very excellent weather 
bureau in charge of a former American. The bureau is 
modeled closely upon the United States bureau. A daily 
weather map similar to that of the United States is issued 
by the weather bureau, and as the area of the country is 

35 



relatively smaller the reports of temperatures and rainfalls 
are more complete and detailed than the United States 
weather maps. The Argentine map is printed each morn- 
ing and gives the weather for the preceding twenty-four 
hours. These weather maps do not reach the outlying dis- 
tricts or cities until the next day, so the grain trade places 
much of its dependence on reports of rainfall which are issued 
each morning by the most important railways. These reports 
are the result of measurements of precipitation made by each 
railway station agent, telegraphed to the railway headquarters, 
and while they are reliable, yet their time of posting is not 
at all regular, and if pressure of business intervenes to pre- 
vent, the railways occasionally neglect to issue them. 

In this matter, a peculiar condition exists in the Argen- 
tine grain trade. Grain dealers on the Rosario Exchange 
care little for weather conditions ruling in the territory that 
is tributary only to the Buenos Aires market, while those 
on the Buenos Aires Exchange are only mildly interested in 
the crop news concerning territory tributary only to the 
Rosario markets. In other words, most Argentine grain 
men are interested only in the conditions that affect grain 
which is likely to be handled by them. The cabled reports of 
the Argentine weather and crop conditions which are re- 
ceived by the exchanges in the United States are made up 
from the Argentine governmental weather map each day. 
They consist of an averaging of the rainfall and temperatures 
ruling in the grain district for the previous day. These re- 
ports are excellent, complete and may be depended upon as 
being as accurate, as it is possible to make a report that is 
necessarily condensed. 

Locusts. — Owing to the great destruction of crops in 
previous years by locusts the Argentine government has estab- 
lished a bureau to take charge of the suppression of this pest. 
The Argentine locust in its ravages is similar to the Kansas 
grasshopper, except that the locust has even a more voracious 
appetite. When a cloud of locusts settle on a farmer's home- 
stead they eat every living vegetable, even eating the bark off 
trees. Their path is marked by desolation and their work is 
that of a living fire. 

A vast amount of money has been spent in experiments 
and in practical measures of extermination, and the results 
have been gratifying to the department, for the damage by 
locusts has been confined to small districts within the last few 
years. Whether the destructive measures are responsible for 
the absence of clouds of locusts of late years, or whether the 
relief from this scourge is due only to a temporary cessation 
of activity by the insect itself, time alone will tell. The work 
of the Argentine bureau for the suppression of locusts has 
received much commendation, and deservedly so, for it can 
be readily understood how the conditions in Argentina make 
organized efforts to stamp out a pest such as this very much 
more difficult than in older or better settled countries. 



36 



GENERAL COMMERCIAL CONDITIONS. 

Argentina has had several good crops of grain in suc- 
cession, live stock values have been good, and business is good. 
There is probably no country on earth where the crop condi- 
tions are so quickly reflected in business affairs, because of 
the absolute dependence on good crops. Poor crops in- 
variably bring business failures because of the way in which 
business is carried on, the country storekeeper being dependent 
on the crops for payment of his bills, wholesale houses are 
dependent on these same crops because they finance the store- 
keeper to a large extent. The result is that failure of crops 
means a general inability to meet obligations. For that rea- 
son also almost every one in Argentine has a marked tendency 
to enlarge upon the excellent crop conditions at all times, and 
it is very difficult to find any one who at any time will admit 
crop damage of any consequence, for such an admission would 
have the effect of restricting credits generally. 

The commercial enterprises of Argentina have not re- 
ceived fair treatment from the government. The taxation to 
which most commercial ventures are subjected to is annoying 
as well as costly. It is impossible to list the various taxes, 
because the taxes vary greatly in the different provinces, 
but in general it may be stated that all personal property pays 
a tax. A tax is levied on each farm wagon ($25 for 2-wheeled, 
$50 for 4-wheeied) or vehicle using the public roads, various 
food products pay various taxes in the different provinces, 
commercial travelers must have licenses for the separate 
provinces. In fact, the license system is pursued to a fine 
point. All commercial records or bookkeeping must be in 
accord with various governmental regulations. Ledgers and 
letter-press books must be stamped with the "Rubrica," a 
government stamp, or they are not admissible in evidence in a 
court of law. These various hampering regulations add much 
to the costs of transacting business in Argentina, and the 
commercial life of Argentina feels that commerce bears more 
than its due share of the expenses of government. Land is 
mostly owned by native Argentines. Natives are also the 
members of the Legislature, and the native Argentine, like 
most of humanity, is perfectly willing to increase taxes that 
some one else has to pay. Consequently the rate of taxation 
upon land is extremely low, for the native owns the land, while 
the taxes upon commerce are high, for that is the most 
feasible method of insuring that the foreigner pays his share 
or more than his share of the expenses. 

As an instance, one flour mill in Argentina with a maxi- 
mum capacity of 500 barrels of flour a day pays a total tax 
of about $3,500 gold a year. Argentina's development would 
be facilitated very much if the lands, instead of commer- 
cial improvements, paid a larger proportion of tax, for it 
would not then be so easy to hold large tracts of land for 
speculative purposes. 

The government of Argentina is republican. Its consti- 
tution and form of government are modelled upon that of the 
United States in most important particulars. The official 
language is Spanish, and outside of the larger cities a knowl- 
edge of the Spanish language is an absolute necessity for the 

37 



visitor to Argentina. All business is carried on in Spanish, 
but the native Argentine is a wonderful linguist. The facility 
of languages and the wonderful knowledge of various lan- 
guages which the educated Argentine possesses is one of the 
points which is most striking to the casual visitor. The lan- 
guages most in use are Spanish, Italian, French, English, Ger- 
man and Portugese, and it is not at all unusual to find young 
business men who speak all of these languages. Most busi- 
ness men in Argentina speak two or three languages and 
many speak four or five. This is markedly true of Buenos 
Aires, the capital, a city of very nearly one million people. 
This city is clean and well kept, has excellently paved streets, 
is very beautiful from an architectural point of view, and for 
brilliancy and fashion well deserves its appellation, the "Paris 
of South America." Most of the wealthy people of Argen- 
tina live in Buenos Aires. 

There is a public school system in Argentina and a num- 
ber of colleges and universities, though the public school sys- 
tem does not by any means furnish adequate school facilities 
for the rural districts. 

Telegraphs. — There are about 29,500 miles of telegraph 
line in Argentina. Of this mileage about 16,700 miles are 
owned and operated by the National and Provincial govern- 
ments of Argentina ; about 10,000 miles are owned and oper- 
ated by railways, and the remainder consists of various pri- 
vate telegraph systems. Most telegraph offices are located in 
postoffices and the rates are about the same as rule in this 
country. Messages can be transmitted in foreign languages, 
generally English, French or German, but the tariff for such 
messages is double the ordinary tariff for messages filed in the 
Spanish language. The cost of cabling to the United States 
from Buenos Aires is about $1.05 gold per word, including 
address and signature. 

Manufacturing. — There is little manufacturing in Ar- 
gentina. In fact, the marked inaptitude of the native for 
mechanics is surprising. The Argentine colonists will buy a 
binder or some other piece of farm machinery and run it 
till it falls apart without even tightening up a bolt, although 
when breaks occur he will mend the break with wire. The 
Argentine can work wonders with wire or with rawhide 
strips. Some of the repairs which he makes in this matter 
are astonishing to the machinery experts who look after such 
matters for the American manufacturers of farm machinery 
during the harvest season. 

Coal. — There is some coal in Argentine, but it is of poor 
quality. It is found in the interior of the country and trans- 
portation costs are high, so that most of the coal consumed 
there is imported from Wales. The costs of running a steam 
engine are, therefore, higher than in the United States be- 
cause of the higher cost of coal. Gasoline engines are not 
in general use because of the high cost of gasoline, about 
$1 gold a gallon. Gasoline must be carried as deck cargo on 
board steamships, and the care it requires under tropical skies 
makes freight rates high enough to produce this high price 
at. destination. There are no working oil refineries in South 
America. 

38 



CONCLUSIONS. 

From a careful, though brief, study of conditions in 
Argentina the conviction of the writer is that the increase of 
the grain production of Argentina will be more gradual here- 
after than it has been in the past, and will very likely for a 
number of years bear a certain positive relation to the net 
total immigration to Argentina, for it appears that Argentina 
is now producing practically all the grain that it is possible 
for the population to produce. That Argentina can produce 
wheat and corn at less cost than they can be produced in the 
United States is true, for the mild climate allows farm work to 
be carried on all the year around, but this advantage is more 
than equalized by the waste and lack of system in farming 
operations and grain handling. 

That Argentina is essentially and naturally a stock-raising 
country is also true, and the advantage which that country 
has over the United States in the costs of producing meats is 
far greater than its advantages in cereal production, for the 
vast areas of cheap lands well suited for grazing herds make 
stock-raising very profitable at prices very much lower than 
rule in this country. 

Argentina offers an excellent market for American manu- 
factures now, and will be a better one in the future, the 
present absence of frequent and quick ocean service helping 
to place American manufacturers at a disadvantage in their 
competition with English and German manufacturers. That 
Argentina is a country of vast resources and vast possibilities 
is true, but that these resources will be developed very slowly 
until commercial activity meets with more practical methods 
of encouragement from the government is equally certain. 
The fact that Argentina is developing in spite of the various 
subtle and active restricting influences is the best indication 
that proper methods would produce more wonderful results. 
The tendency of the native Argentine to send his children to 
the United States to school is one of the most hopeful signs 
for the commercial and political future of that country. 



39 



28 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

015 916 827 A " • 



I 4 Prsisitfent 
IAN1SCM, Vice-I?rcs 

EDW. ANDREW, 



A. L, WAYNE, Treasurer 



sh- Wright Co. 



:0M MISSION MERCHANTS 



GRAIN AND PROVISIONS 



^14-519 Rlaito Building, CMcaoo, Illinois 



Gable AddreUs 'HASHWEIGHT' 



XatabUi&ed in 18.58 



Long JMiitftttee telephone 
ftarrisofc 2870 



Automatic Talepbou© 
Number &4lu 



CQneigjtt&ente of Orain Solicited 
irden for Future Deliveries Executed oa Jfargini 



itw^t, il'.s'iiii It G< 



